


Love

by ghost_like



Series: Shangri-la [3]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Shangri-La Inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 06:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16213121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghost_like/pseuds/ghost_like
Summary: Taekwoon was avoiding him again.





	Love

**Author's Note:**

> this is the last piece i have written for this series so far and, while i had more stories planned, i haven't felt very inspired to continue writing it, so it might take a long time before there is any updates - if ever.
> 
> i think this one will be pretty satisfying to most of you who were sad with the previous work, so there's that.
> 
> enjoy!♡

When he asked Taekwoon to make a child with him, Hakyeon expected that it would bring them closer together, instead of further apart.

Taekwoon was avoiding him again.

Hakyeon was going mad already with Death’s antics. Whenever he thought they were taking a step forward, Taekwoon took two steps back. It didn’t make sense. It didn’t make any sense at all, and it was killing him.

He could, at least, take solace in the fact that their son was doing well. Hakyeon visited him that day and was glad to find him frolicking around the lovely dimension he had created for himself, fussing over a new piece he’d acquired; Hakyeon would never regret making Jaehwan the embodiment of Art. His realm consisted of endless hallways and rooms, all of them an exhibit of everything mankind created. From detailed sculptures to children’s drawings to stacks of sheet music to books, Jaehwan had everything. That day he was hanging a painting on one of his walls, depicting a vibrant green meadow under a bright blue sky.

“New piece?” Hakyeon asked, a serene smile on his lips, and Jaehwan immediately turned to him to greet him with a hug.

“Mother!” Jaehwan exclaimed with his loud, joyful voice. Hakyeon had long since given up on trying to get him to stop calling him ‘mother’ - and, deep down, he sort of liked it. “I wasn’t expecting you so early!”

“I have missed my son too much to wait any longer,” Hakyeon said as he squeezed his child in his arms.

“And you just missed father, too,” Jaehwan said with a pout. Hakyeon frowned. “He was here not long ago.”

“He has been visiting you?” Hakyeon asked, uncertain, and Jaehwan nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, every day! He even brings me gifts! Like that painting I just put on my wall,” Jaehwan informed with a big grin. Hakyeon wasn’t sure if he felt relieved that Taekwoon was present in their child’s life or disappointed that he was absent in his own. “Something wrong?”

Hakyeon blinked, finding Jaehwan staring at him with a concerned expression.

“You seem upset.”

“I am fine,” Hakyeon said and forced a smile, but he could never hide anything from his firstborn. With a resigned sigh, Hakyeon admitted, “Alright. It is your father, as always. He has been avoiding me.”

“Oh. I didn’t know,” Jaehwan said, clearly surprised. “I thought you two were getting along.”

“We are. Or were,” Hakyeon explained, frowning. “Whenever I see him, he is perfectly courteous with me, he treats me very well. But he only ever speaks to me when we have some business or another to discuss, and he never lingers once we finish our talk. He answers my calls, but never calls for me himself. He— He has been distant.”

“Did you have a fight?” Jaehwan asked, holding both Hakyeon’s hands as he peered into his eyes with concern.

“No, as I said, we have been getting along whenever we meet,” Hakyeon said and lowered his gaze to the shiny, bright marble floors of his son’s dwelling. “Has he— Has he asked about me?”

Jaehwan pursed his lips, silent for a long time, before he answered. “No. I’m sorry, mother.”

Hakyeon smiled to his child and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “It is alright, my dear, this is not your fault.”

“Have you considered talking to him?” Jaehwan asked, his big eyes full of innocent hope, and Hakyeon’s expression softened. “I’m sure father will listen to your concerns if you seek him out.”

“Yes, I— I will do that.”

He didn’t want to do that - but he had to if he ever wished to get to the bottom of that issue.

So later that same day, Hakyeon gathered all the courage he could find inside himself, and went to the realm of death to look for Taekwoon. It always felt like an adventure to enter his domain, no matter how unchanging it was - always the same blackness, the same endless void. It felt peaceful, in a way.

But Hakyeon’s heart was hammering in his chest, booming like a war drum, when he arrived there that day. It could change everything, the talk he wished to have with Death. It _would_ change everything, be it for better or for worse.

As he had expected, Taekwoon was nowhere to be seen. Hakyeon landed on their rock - when was it that he began referring to that boulder as ‘their rock’? - and looked around. He wouldn’t find him, he knew. So, with a deep breath and a long exhale, he called him.

“Taekwoon?”

Hakyeon always knew when Taekwoon was close; his heart rate sped up, a shiver ran down his spine, his mouth went a little dry. He turned around, and there he was in his black cloak and hood, head tilted in a silent question. It was truly something, the way Hakyeon had learned to read Taekwoon’s silences.

“Hakyeon,” he greeted, ever formal, ever stiff. “I trust everything is well?”

“Yes, I was just hoping to speak to you,” Hakyeon said, deciding not to waste time with pleasantries. Then, seeing that Taekwoon was waiting for Hakyeon to say his piece, he quickly added. “In private, if possible? I do not want my children eavesdropping on this particular subject.”

Taekwoon was silent for a moment, lips pursed as if considering. Then, with a small exhalation of air, he nodded. He gestured with a hand, a brief, short movement, and beside him, a door materialized, large and dark and simple. “We can speak in my chambers, if that is alright with you.”

“Yes, it seems adequate,” Hakyeon agreed, and Taekwoon gave him a short nod before opening the door and motioning him inside. Hakyeon could see nothing but darkness on the other side, but he wouldn’t question Taekwoon’s methods and, without a word, moved inside the open door.

It felt like crossing a silk curtain. There was darkness for a moment, a cool feeling on his skin, and suddenly he wasn’t in that dark void any longer. No, he was in a rather elegant room, with dark marble walls and obsidian flooring. There was a bed to one side, which was odd considering Death didn’t need sleep, while on the other side of the room Taekwoon had set up a small library for himself. There were shelves stuffed with tomes from ground to ceiling, a desk made of a light stone with a mess of parchment and scrolls and books on top, a large, comfortable looking chair behind it. It was all very minimalistic, but comfortable. It felt lived in, somehow. Welcoming, even.

Hakyeon heard a click behind him and found that Taekwoon had closed the door to his chambers. They were alone.

“I hope you will forgive me for the mess. I was not expecting visitors,” Taekwoon murmured, moving further inside his room towards the desk, likely to clear it from all the documents. Hakyeon smiled despite himself. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

“Your quarters are not at all what I was expecting,” Hakyeon commented, wandering slowly towards a recliner he spotted not far from the desk. “It feels very—”

“Human,” Taekwoon finished the sentence in his stead, and Hakyeon hummed to agree. “I must admit that your mankind is a subject of fascination to me. I apologize if it offends you.”

“It does not. I am impressed, in fact, although I see no purpose for many of the furniture here,” Hakyeon said, taking a seat on the recliner. “Like the bed, for example. Do you even need to sleep?”

Taekwoon chuckled lightly at the question. It sent shivers running through him. “No, I do not. I do, however, appreciate comfort.”

“I can understand that,” Hakyeon said, and Taekwoon shot him a side smile.

“Coming from the dragon who sleeps on the floor of a cave.”

“I have my velvets and silks,” Hakyeon said and sniffed in affectation. “But I digress.”

“Yes, what was it that you wished to see me about?” Taekwoon asked, and there it was again, that formality. Hakyeon felt like he was being smothered by it.

“You have been avoiding me.”

Hakyeon accused with no easing into it, just dropping his concern on Taekwoon’s lap to see how he would react. Taekwoon froze where he was, one hand hovering over a yellowed scroll for a moment before he resumed his movement. He didn’t turn to face Hakyeon.

“Avoiding you?” he mused, and Hakyeon could tell it was forced. “What makes you believe so?”

“Because you have,” Hakyeon continued, unblinking as to not miss a single movement from Taekwoon. “I was under the impression that we would become friendlier after we made our child, but you continue to avoid me like a cat avoids a bath.”

“You said you wished for us to become civil with each other when we made Jaehwan,” Taekwoon stated factually, his soft voice firm. “Am I not being civil with you?”

“That is not what I mean and you know it,” Hakyeon threw back, rising from the recliner and taking slow steps towards Death. “Have I done something?”

Taekwoon was silent for a heartbeat. “No. You have done nothing wrong.”

“Then tell me why,” Hakyeon pleaded, his voice cracking slightly. Taekwoon flinched, his shoulders hunched. “Tell me why you run from me with such intent.”

“Hakyeon—” he started, and there was an edge of warning in his tone, but Hakyeon would have none of it.

“No. I will not let you slip through my fingers again, not like you always do when I try to have a conversation with you,” Hakyeon said, and it was firmer than he imagined possible. The last time he spoke like that to Taekwoon was eons ago, when he still fought him in every turn. “You have been avoiding me and I want to know why. No excuses.”

Taekwoon let out a shaky breath through parted lips. No reply came for several seconds, long enough that Hakyeon thought he would have to insist further, but finally Taekwoon decided to contribute to that conversation - his voice was so meek, so frail, that Hakyeon had trouble hearing his words. “Why does it matter?” Hakyeon didn’t have time to form a reply. “You hate me. I understand your desire for us to have a cordial relationship, especially because we now have a child together, but you do not have to pretend to regard me as nothing but the monster who keeps taking away the lives of your creations.”

“I do not—” Hakyeon started, but stopped to take a deep breath and organize his thoughts before speaking again. “Yes, I admit, I have thought of you as such. But it was in the past, Taekwoon, I—” Another deep breath. “I know, now, that I was wrong. You— You are not a monster.”

Taekwoon was shaking his head as if rejecting everything Hakyeon was saying, but said nothing. Hakyeon was starting to feel an edge of panic in the pit of his stomach.

“Taekwoon, please look at me.”

Taekwoon shook his head again, a short motion, desperate. Hakyeon took the two steps left to close the distance between them, and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

“Taekwoon—”

“No,” ha said. He stepped forward just as Hakyeon touched him, his back still turned. His voice was shaky. “Please, don’t.”

“Taekwoon, tell me what is wrong,” Hakyeon pleaded. Taekwoon crossed his arms over his chest, grasping at his own arms as if trying to hold himself together. “Taekwoon, _please_ —”

“Stop,” the request came in a whisper, the wisp of a sound, and it broke Hakyeon’s heart. “Stop saying my name.”

Hakyeon swallowed, his hands clenched tight into fists on his sides. “Why?”

No answer came but a broken sob. Hakyeon’s eyes widened and he made to go forward, but Taekwoon seemed to notice his intentions and moved away again.

“Don’t,” Death said, and Hakyeon noticed he was shaking. “Don’t— Please, don’t touch me. Don’t say my name. Don’t call for me. Don’t be kind to me.”

“Why?” Hakyeon asked again, his panic leaking into his tone. “Taekwoon, tell me why.”

Taekwoon shook his head, a jerky motion that seemed manic. Hakyeon sucked in a breath, nervous.

“Please,” Taekwoon asked, his voice even weaker if that was possible. “Please, leave.”

“No.”

“Leave,” he almost hissed the word. “Just leave me to my misery.”

“No,” Hakyeon repeated, vision blurry with the tears that welled up in his eyes. “I am not going anywhere.”

“Why are you doing this?” Taekwoon asked, lowering himself to the floor, head bowed. “What do you want from me?”

“Taekwoon—”

“I love you.”

It was a whisper, but it echoed in Hakyeon’s ears just as it would if Taekwoon had shouted. And then Taekwoon laughed, a bitter, self-deprecating sound.

“Is that what you came for? My deepest secret, my shame?” he asked, that awful laughter still in his voice. “I love you. Have it. Now _leave_.”

Hakyeon shook his head, even if Taekwoon had his back turned and couldn’t see the movement. “No.”

“Please, stop tormenting me, just— Please—” his voice broke and his weak, pitiful sobs filled the room.

Hakyeon couldn’t take it anymore and surged forward, kneeling on the floor behind Taekwoon and wrapping his arms around him as he wept. Taekwoon tried to fight him, push him away, squirm out of his embrace, but Hakyeon held him tight, held him close.

“I am not going anywhere,” Hakyeon whispered the promise near Taekwoon’s ear, and Death whimpered as if Hakyeon had struck him. “I am not leaving you, not now and not ever.”

“Why do you keep making it so hard,” Taekwoon’s voice was so weak Hakyeon could only hear him because he was in his arms. “I have spent thousands of years trying to bury this sentiment, but you keep feeding it, keep reminding me of it, I can’t do this anymore, I can’t—”

“Look at me,” Hakyeon pleaded, gentle, trying to coax Taekwoon to turn around. Death was stubborn, however, and keep his head firmly down and his face turned away. “Taekwoon, look at me.”

Taekwoon shook his head, still trying to break free from Hakyeon’s grip. Hakyeon didn’t want to resort to that, but Taekwoon was being difficult - he was stronger than Taekwoon was, physically. He wrangled him with ease, pushing him down onto his back and keeping him in place by holding his shoulders down with his hands, legs on each side of his hips. Taekwoon’s hood fell back during the struggle, and now Hakyeon could see up close the deep well of pain in his black eyes, the tar-like tears staining his face. And Hakyeon had caused it.

He felt like the worst being in the universe.

Gently, handling something precious, Hakyeon wiped away Taekwoon’s tears with his thumbs, smearing the pale skin with the black substance. Taekwoon had settled down some, likely out of shock from the sudden change in positions, but he was still crying silently as he looked up at Hakyeon, a mix of fear and uncertainty in his eyes.

Hakyeon smiled, warm and fond, and brushed Taekwoon’s black hair away from his face with his fingertips. Taekwoon sucked in a shuddery breath, eyes widening ever so slightly at Hakyeon’s action.

“Tell me again,” Hakyeon asked softly, and Taekwoon winced and shook his head, the mere thought of repeating his confession paining him. “Please, tell me again.”

Taekwoon bit his lips, pleading with his eyes for Hakyeon to let it go, let _him_ go, but Hakyeon didn’t budge. Finally, after what felt like hours, Taekwoon finally whispered, “I love you.”

Hakyeon’s breath got caught in his throat, and he lowered himself over Taekwoon so he could rest his forehead against his. “Again.”

Taekwoon didn’t take as long to oblige this time. “I love you.”

A smile inadvertently bloomed on Hakyeon’s lips and he nudged Taekwoon’s nose with his own. “Again.”

“I love you,” Taekwoon murmured, his warm breath ghosting over Hakyeon’s skin. He shivered.

Slowly, so slowly, Hakyeon closed his lips over Taekwoon’s. It was something he had seen his humans do, when they were fond of someone - and he was very fond of Taekwoon. He wasn’t sure if he was doing it right; all he did was smush his lips against Taekwoon’s, locking them together the way they seemed to fit best.

In his human form, Hakyeon’s body functioned exactly like that of a human even if their core materials were very different. He assumed it was the same for Taekwoon in his human form, and so, both of them experienced feelings exactly like humans did.

Something so simple as pressing their lips together made Hakyeon feel like he was drowning. He pulled back quickly, wide-eyed, staring down at Taekwoon as if he had found out some manner of universal truth, finding Taekwoon staring back at him with the very same expression. Hakyeon gingerly raised his fingertips and brushed them over Taekwoon’s bottom lip, almost a caress, before he dove in for another kiss.

It was more eager this time, their lips clashing against one another, moving without a rhythm, tongues darting out, teeth knocking together, gasping into each other’s mouths. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if it was a mess, nothing mattered, only Taekwoon under him, with his arms around him, the taste of him in his mouth, the feeling of his soft, cold skin under his palms.

Now he understood why his humans enjoyed this act of lip smushing so much.

“One more time?” Hakyeon asked against Taekwoon’s lips, breathy, and Taekwoon didn’t have to ask what he meant.

“I love you,” Taekwoon whispered, voice husky and frail, and Hakyeon felt as if he were melting.

He nuzzled Taekwoon’s nose, pressed another kiss to his lips, and confessed in a tiny voice. “And I love you.”

Taekwoon’s eyes widened and he shook his head, denying Hakyeon’s words. “No.”

“Yes,” Hakyeon said, frantic. “I do. I love you.”

“No, you can’t,” Taekwoon said as his hands found their way to Hakyeon’s face, cupping his cheeks gently but with some urgency. “You can’t, Hakyeon, I am Death, I have nothing to offer you but misery, please don’t—”

“I don’t care. I don’t,” Hakyeon replied and smiled at Taekwoon, a tear escaping his cobalt blue eye and landing on Taekwoon’s pale cheek. Liquid gold. “I love you. I want you, nobody else.”

A sad little chuckle escaped Taekwoon’s throat. “You must be a glutton for punishment.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes and laughed softly. “You are one to talk.” He leaned forward, rubbing his face on Taekwoon’s lovingly, eyes closed and lips parted. “Please, do not avoid me anymore. Stop running away from me, stop hiding, missing you hurts too much.”

“I was just trying to make you happy,” Taekwoon finally explained, and the pain in his expression was so intense that Hakyeon felt himself crumble. “Forcing myself to stay away from you was the hardest trial I have ever faced.”

“Then stop. Stay with me, always,” Hakyeon asked, caressing his darkness’s face like the treasure he was. “Will you? Say you will?”

Taekwoon nodded weakly, running his fingers through Hakyeon’s hair. “I will.”

“Promise? Promise you will stop running from me?” Hakyeon pleaded and leaned his forehead against Taekwoon’s while the latter nodded slowly, like that moment they were sharing had robbed him of his energy.

“I promise.”

“I love you,” Hakyeon whispered again before closed his lips over Taekwoon’s once more, started a deep, loving kiss. Taekwoon let himself melt under Hakyeon, holding him close, caressing his hair, his back, the sides of his face, his arms. Hakyeon shivered, Taekwoon’s cold touch sending jolts of electricity running through his body, igniting something in him he didn’t even know existed. He shuddered and a broken little sound escaped his throat.

“So warm,” Taekwoon mumbled against his lips and Hakyeon chuckled, flicking his tongue over Taekwoon’s upper lip teasingly. The way his eyelids fluttered closed and a sigh escaped his lungs, Hakyeon knew it had worked.

“Does it bother you?” he asked, worrying for a second that Taekwoon would say yes, but his Darkness simply shook his head and pressed him closer to himself.

“No. It burns, but not in a bad way,” Taekwoon explained, trying to be coherent in his current state. “It feels— Pleasant.”

Hakyeon hummed, nibbling at Taekwoon’s bottom lip. He was enjoying exploring Taekwoon reactions, the acts that would be pleasurable to his Darkness, the way his voice sounded. Hakyeon himself was also delighted with the way Taekwoon’s hand felt against his skin, his cool temperature burning him as well, but as Taekwoon had said, it felt — Pleasant. The thought caused him to muse out loud, “Imagine feeling it all over your body.”

Taekwoon made a noise that was very un-Death like and Hakyeon giggled, pressing a fond kiss to his lips.

“Who would have known that Death can be so adorable.”

Taekwoon scowled at him, but the action only served to drive Hakyeon’s point home. He chuckled and rubbed his face on Taekwoon’s again, like an affectionate cat - or, in his case, dragon. Taekwoon sighed and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Hakyeon as if trying to keep him there, never to let go.

“I love you,” Taekwoon whispered next to his ear and Hakyeon smiled like a fool, pressing a kiss to Death’s temple.

“I love you,” he said back, running the fingers of one hand through the soft locks of dark hair. “I understand now why my children are always wrapped around their mates. I do not ever wish to leave your arms.”

“As I never wish to let you go,” Taekwoon said, smiling up at Hakyeon, and Hakyeon’s heart fluttered inside his chest. His face was still smeared black and gold from their tears - Hakyeon had never seen Taekwoon look more beautiful.

With the sleeve of his robes, Hakyeon gently began cleaning his beloved’s face. Taekwoon only let him, watching him with those dark, loving eyes. Once Taekwoon’s moonkissed skin was cleared and unmarred again, Hakyeon took his time tracing his features with his fingertips - the plane of his cheeks, his high cheekbones, the slope of his nose, his pouty lips.

“I want to see your eyes,” Hakyeon requested, and Taekwoon frowned slightly in question. “Your real eyes, even if your human ones are lovely as well.”

“I thought they distressed you,” Taekwoon said, tilting his head just a bit. “You seemed uncomfortable the first time you saw them.”

“I was simply not prepared for them. It is alarming to expect human eyes and be met with a void,” Hakyeon explained, and Taekwoon blinked in acknowledgment. “But I want to see them now. I wish to see them from up close. Please?”

Taekwoon’s lips parted to allow a sigh pass through them, the ghost of a smile on his face. “As if I had any power to deny you anything.”

Hakyeon grinned, giddy, as he watched while Taekwoon closed his eyes for a couple of heartbeats. Hakyeon bit his bottom lip in expectation, a soft gasp escaping his lungs once Taekwoon opened his eyes once more. All black, all darkness. But it wasn’t, not truly, and from this close, he could it so very clearly.

“It is not empty,” Hakyeon whispered, fingertips tracing Taekwoon’s cheekbone as he stared deep into his eyes. Taekwoon simply smiled up at him, not rushing Hakyeon as he gazed into the darkness. “I thought— I can see the stars.”

Taekwoon seemed amused at Hakyeon’s reaction, and slowly lifted one his hands for Hakyeon’s inspection as well. What Hakyeon had compared once to ink was, in fact, Taekwoon’s skin. And it wasn’t black - it was as if someone has taken the night sky and tattooed it over his hands.

“I am the stars,” Taekwoon stated, simple, and Hakyeon couldn’t help but to smile, smitten. “As you are. But you have been touched by the sun, whereas I have not. You are light. I am darkness.”

“Does that mean you see the sun when you look into my eyes?”

“No,” he said; Taekwoon ran the backs of his fingers over Hakyeon cheek reverently before whispering, “I see the entire universe.”

**Author's Note:**

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